Cants Mere 'Under The Rods Tips'

This blog is going way back to September of 2018, it's crazy how fast time passes, this was a good period to be fishing Cants because it wasn't overrun with people desperately trying to catch a 30. Chelmsford had done a great job in developing Cants from a water overrun with thousands of small carp and turning into a proper 'big fish' venue. Those that have read my older blogs will know that I've fished Cants a lot in the past and then I pulled off to focus on other waters. Living my life intuitively I knew that when the time was right my gut would tell me when to return. What Was My Motivation? it wasn't the size of the carp now in the water, it was simply the desire to revisit a lake that I loved fishing a few years before. 

All my blogs from this point won't be showing the spots that I fish, nowadays a lot of people want things handed to them on a plate and I genuinely don't see why I should put the time into fishing these waters only to let everyone know exactly what I'm doing. People really need to suss out how to catch carp by their own accord. You'll learn nothing about carp fishing by copying others, actually doing this stops you from moving forward and really only offers a temporary solution. The only advice I would really give is to be different in what you do, don't followed the herd, there's more than one way to catch a fish. 

View From The Back Bay

When fishing Cants in the past I liked to focus on the descending bars that are locate on both points of the island. In my mind these were perfect ambush points and I'd had some good results adopting this approach, but Cant's is also a fantastic margin water because, firstly the margins are deep, and secondly you have so many overhanging trees and bushes, let us remember that carp love the margins, so I'd made up my mind that I was going to basically fish underneath my rod tips super close in. For this approach to work the lake needs to be near empty and you have to be as quiet as possible, with the way carp fishing is nowadays these two elements are almost impossible to come by. However, on the days I chose to fish there weren't many people about especially up the back bay where I planned to go.

My plan was simple, fish mouthfuls of bait under the overhanging bushes either side of my swim, I was going to use my baiting pole to drop the rigs covertly and quietly. This was at a time when baiting poles hadn't become the latest fashion accessory, actually hardly anyone used them, I'd constructed a really long one adding sections using carbon wrap and carbon spray glue. Doing this allowed me to purchase long pieces of carbon tube and modify them so they slotted into each other. At the time I was using it I can safely say that it was probably one of the longest baiting poles being used, I went a little nuts in regards to the length but .. hey "you've got to do what you've got to do" to give yourself an edge. The fact it took about an hour to set up and put away was something that I had to make peace with rather quickly. Also, occasionally you might get a shard of carbon in you hand but that just added to the overall comedy value of the dam thing.

Custom Made Baiting Pole

This Is Only Half Of The Total Length

I was only going to be using a few sections to ship my bait out under the bushes either side of me, due to the depth of the margins you could get away with tucking the rig right under the marginal growth and you were still in a really good depth of water. Unlike my older Cants sessions where I fished a lot of bait spread around the area, this time I was opting for a mouthful in the shape of a solid bag. I knew the carp hugged the margins so there was no real need to load the swim up with bait in the hope to attract them. In my mind, if you could get the bait bag under the bushes any fish that came along wouldn't hesitate to suck it up. I used a large PVA bag which I filled with crushed Boilies and pellets of varying sizes, I stuck with fruity flavours, I'm still using Starmer Baits, I wouldn't change from their bait even if a gun was held to my head, before shipping the bags out I'd inject them with some liquid feed.

Once both bags were placed I wasn't going to move them, I genuinely felt confident that "if" the fish drop down to feed then I've given myself the best chance at getting a bite. That's all you can do, carp fishing to me is setting up a scenario where 'if the fish are feeding' you're giving yourself the highest chance of success. This approach doesn't involve loads of complicated rigs and ultra scientific baits, it's all about putting your bait in the right place. Once all the 'rigmarole' was out the way of setting all my gear up and making sure my rods and reel handles were perfectly symmetrical, I sat back watching the water carefully.

It really didn't take long for a bite to occur, the rigs had been in position for little over an hour before I got a thunderous take that ripped the rod tip sharp to the left. Leaning into this fish I knew straight away that it was big, the sheer power of the pulls and lunges were scary, due to the marginal obstructions I kept the rod tip low in the water and basically held on for dear life until the fish tired enough to get a net under it. This fish was a beauty weighing in at a touch over 28 pound, it was built like a torpedo, it was a lovely dark brown, every part of it was immaculate. 

This was the only bite that occurred on this session but I planned to head back the following day to adopt exactly the same approach. This trip was eventful in more ways than one and it had to be seen to be believed. I'd arrived slightly later in the day for my second trip, everything was exactly the same as the previous day. Solid bags were tied and carefully placed under the marginal growth with my baiting pole, the day passed with no action. As the sun started to lower it was 'game on', everything felt right and I knew a bite was imminent, I sat perched up the bank when all of a sudden my alarms gave an unorthodox set of blips. My left rod pulled right round to the left, my pod fell downwards to the left and the rod flew into the water. 

This all happened within a second, I had no time to think so I slide down the bank and dived headfirst into the lake, the rod had disappeared so I lunged my arm in the vague direction that it went off sailing. As I stretched full reach and lowered my arm through the water my little pinky finger managed to connect around the line between the spool and the first guide on the butt section of my rod. As I picked the rod up with both hands and lifted the fish was still on, I was now standing in the water fully clothed up to my stomach. The carp on the end of my line was going nuts but after an intense fight I managed to slip another dark Cants common under the net cords, scales fell to 29IB.

This fish was totally worth a drowned phone and a set of warped bank cards that got flooded in my wallet, because it was a lovely warm evening I dried off quickly. No other bites came that day which doesn't surprise me because me jumping in headfirst probably spooked half the lake. I drove home that evening smelling of both Cants and the carp that lived there. Because my approach appeared to be working I decided to head back up a few days after I "took my dive". It was all very regimented by this point. I quietly made my way to the swim, kept low to the water, tied my bags, extracted my pole and silently slid both my rigs either side of the swim under the marginal growth. 

Just like the previous sessions nothing happened during the main part of the day, the bite came just as the sun had gone down, the light was fading. My left rod tore off at a crazy pace, a huge vortex of silt and leaves erupted from where my rig had been covertly placed. This carp felt like a beast, it was pulling hard towards the bushes but I kept the pressure on, this caused it to dart into the small bay to the left of me. The vortex's were huge and the bottom was being kicked up every time in lunged on another powerful run. Slowly and surely I was gaining ground and as it got closer to me it was clear that this was a big carp. As the net slid under this fish a huge amount of relief washed over me.

This fish was big and the scales sunk to 33IB exactly ... what a fight and what a fish, the last two carp I had out of Cants sort of made me feel like I was building up to one on the 30's so the whole scenario felt strangely poetic. This would be the last time that I fished Cants because I would end up dropping my Chelmsford membership. I was getting tired of the journeys up and down and I wanted to find a few more waters closer to home. Not only that but all the venues were really starting to get busy and when this starts to happen I naturally pull off looking for places that offer solitude.

Braxted Reservoir 'As The Matrix Slips'

Through the years of writing my blogs I've occasionally touched on a subject that I call the "fabricated reality". This concept isn't some 'hoodoo' that I read about on a crazy fringe website or in a dodgy 'new age' book. This is a theory that came into my mind well over a decade ago, coincidently, it was whilst I was on the bank fishing. If I remember rightly the whole concept came to fruition whilst chasing secrets down on Micklem Mere, it was early morning, I'd managed to get my rods out just before the sun came up. It was poignant because I was the only one on the water and the nearest human was fields away. As I watched 'reality' unfold before my eyes I realised that, within that moment, there was no outside influence to distort my perception of the world around me. It was simply me witnessing everything in its purest form, it was an undiluted example of a beautiful world. 

In theory that's what existence should be, unfortunately it isn't, it never really has been and I fear it never will be for vast swaths of the worlds population. In my head the idea of a 'Matrix' came to mind long before the films were ever released. For the Matrix to exist you need to keep the mass of the population under hypnosis, there needs to be certain mechanisms in place to maintain the collective trance. Firstly you need "repetition", for example, "boring repetitive jobs", "advertisements", "marketing campaigns", "radio playlists", "habit forming activities", "meaningless labels" that create division, the list goes on. From the elements listed above, over time, behaviour modification takes place. It's actually this form of modification that we're seeing now with this 'pandemic'. I believe repetition breaks down your resistance, it literally dumbs you down both physically and mentally, turning may into docile unquestioning shells.

Running seamlessly alongside this is "thought control", this is the most important link in the chain, and it comes in many forms, predominantly through information received. This includes the media in all its guises and the related cooperations, TV, movies, celebrities, algorithms, advertisements, social media, think tanks, and let us not forget the Tavistock Institute of human relations. Literally everything that makes up the "modern age" is continually bombarding both our senses and consciousness to the point where we are being programmed without even realising it. Because this has been part and parcel of our everyday lives since birth, our conscious minds are unaware that it's even happening, however our unconscious minds are soaking up everything, the subconscious never sleeps. 

Answer me this, through everything listed above how the hell can you experience any real undiluted reality?. How can you not be influenced by the bullshit around you when you're literally subjected to it every waking second, and more importantly how can you not be influenced and moulded by everything you're seeing and hearing ... and feeling. All of the above is what's driving the current hysteria we're witnessing, all of the above is what's making people blindly follow ludicrous rules and regulations that, with a little common sense and logical thinking, you'll begin to see the absurdity in it all. Since this 'pandemic' came to fruition I feel the crack within the walls of the Matrix has become painfully obvious, if you aren't starting to see it for yourself then I suggest you look a little harder. 

I believe for everything I've mentioned to be solidified into place you need one last element, "distraction". If you can keep people distracted with the meaningless then you can keep them blind to any form of reality or truth. Too me this is the real virus, it's a virus of the "collective mind", distraction falls in line with thought control, it's the same elements that perpetuate it, celebrity obsession, social media, alcohol, drugs, pornography, platforms that enhance self-obsession, narcissism and self focus, and of course, the media. In my mind 'repetition', 'thought control' and 'distraction' are the three main elements that keep the worlds population trapped within the Matrix. To see through it you have to start using your own mind, collecting your own thoughts, feel confident in your own observations, and most important of all, question everything, especially when it's the MSM version of things you're continually being force fed. The puppeteers behind the media are the same entities that keep the whole system/prison in place.

I see the same patterns forming in modern day carp fishing, all these fashionable rigs, baits and items of tackle don't just happen. It's carefully designed marketing campaigns that are selling you the idea that a certain rig or bait will catch you more fish. Those with a modicum of sense will realise this is all just waffle, it's where you put your bait and rig that matters, not all the bells and whistles coming from the mags and DVD's. Through the years of writing my blogs I often get asked why I don't use "modern" rigs and my answer is simple. I see no benefit in changing from what I've been using for the past 30 years. Understanding the waters that you fish is one of the most important elements of carp fishing, for me everything else is simply a distraction.

So let us take a slight rest-bite from the madness and, 'through words', magically transport ourselves back to the Autumn of 2016 where I ventured up to Braxted reservoir for a day session. As I recall I was pretty 'down' on the venue after my last trip, the small nondescript carp appeared to have taken over the place making it a shadow of its former self. The 'Res' use to be a venue that I got excited about, when I first joined Chelmsford, it was one of those places you could go to if you'd been struggling on other waters. It contained a fantastic head of 20's and you always knew you were going to have a productive day. Nowadays it's just not the same and over the past few years it has lost  the appeal it once held for me. But not being one to shun a gut feeling I embraced the enthusiasm, threw everything in the van and headed up the A12 in the hope I could rekindle some of the lost magic.

My enthusiasm to get the rods out made the journey fly by and before I knew it I was pulling into an empty car park down by front lake. All I had to do now was take the torturous walk up to the 'res'. Today I'd opted to use my little margin creeper rods, mini bait runners and my old TLB bite alarms. I was hoping without my normal 12-footers and stainless steel pod, it might just make the uphill journey that little bit easier. With a fast moving sky overhead and a slight bite in the wind, I clamboured up the muddy farm track. Finally reaching the top, I was met with a beautiful windswept landscape and best of all there wasn't a soul in sight. 

View From The Swim

The wind was pushing nicely towards the dam wall, it made sense to fish on the front of it. It wasn't a particularly cold breeze and the carp do have a habit of getting on the front of the wind more times than not. Everything was going to be kept as simple as possible, I was going to fish small-ish PVA mesh bags with both crushed and full boilies in them. I was basically going to fish a mouthful at a time, hoping this might pick out the slightly better carp. I felt that if I started to pile the bait in the small carp would be on it in no time at all. Both rigs would be my usual 'semi-fixed' setups fished on 3oz leads - "blowback" style, my bait of choice was Tigernut & Maple. I wasn't going to be aiming for any particular spots, the rule of thumb would be one rod fished in the marginal areas and one chucked out into the open. I would only recast when and if I got a bite, there's a pretty heavy stock in the res and you can get bites from most places.

Mesh Bag Mouthfuls

  Blow-Back

So with both rods ready to go I deployed the 'mesh bag landmines' into the chaotic water before me, two very satisfying 'PLOPS' occurred followed by the sweet "DONK" that indicates 'we're good to go'. Having used 12ft rods for so long it felt a little strange dealing with my 8.5ft creepers but there was something endearing about them, matched up with my old skool TLB alarms and mini bait-runners, I was actually really looking forward to getting a bite. With the clouds racing overhead and the water fighting with itself in all directions, I took a much deserved seat under my brolly, taking refuge from the chaos. It was now the inevitable wait, I sensed I wouldn't have to wait too long though. I've fished the res in similar conditions to these many times before and it always manages to deliver a few fish. So, a few cups of coffee later and a hell of a lot of daydreaming, the conditions drastically changed for a moment or two, the clouds slowed down and started to disperse and the water became less confused looking. And, as if someone flicked a switch, within minutes, the clouds came back racing faster than before and with that, the water started to fight with itself again.

TLB's & Margin Creepers

Because the res is up so high the weather tends to be a series of extremes, it's a sun trap in the summer and pretty dam unforgiving in the winter. Amid the juggling of conditions my righthand alarm started crackling and bleeping, shortly followed by a monstrous run. Grabbing the rod and leaning into the fish, the reel spun and I just let the carp race off. Every lunge and pull seemed magnified by the shortness of the rod, the fish was kiting all over the place, I could tell I wasn't hooked into one of the small ones, it felt pretty good. Slowly it started to tire and within the flat spots the carp was creating just under the surface I saw a large tail and a pretty decent set of shoulders. As it came in close I slid the net under a lovely looking common carp. 

A Beauty Of A Common

 

This was such a clean fish and an utter pleasure to catch, this carp reminded me of 'the res of old' where fish of this quality where in abundance. I slipped it home and fired the rod back out into the watery void, somewhere far below the bait landed and a "DONK" was felt. The rod was positioned carefully on the alarm, the bobbin was hung primed for another screaming bite. The day started to pass and I was in and out of minor hypnosis staring incessantly and both bobbins as they swung around in the wind. Occasionally one of them would slam against the bank stick, that sound was oddly satisfying. A couple of hours had past me by before the same rod shot off again, the bit was almost identical, the tip of the rod hooped round and my little bait-runner whizzed a like a pneumatic drill. I lifted the rod in my right hand and gently cupped the spool with my left, this felt like another good fish. The battle was pretty intense, I was fighting both the fish and the ridiculous wind smacking me straight in the face. Because the water level was so low I was standing where at least 5ft of water should be, as the wind blew, small waves were lapping on the tips of my boots. As the carp tired I eased another good looking common over the net. 

A Lovely Mid Double

This was another awesome looking carp, I took great pleasure in releasing it back into the chaotic water, paying close attention as it faded from view as it slowly swam away. No time was wasted, I put a fresh bait on, slipped the mesh bag onto the hook and launched it back out into the 'ball-park' area I'd had the two fish from. My margin rod remained motionless, maybe the dropped water level had something to do with this. In theory I was actually setup where fish would usually be feeding. Thinking back I've actually caught carp from the spot that my rods were on.

Low Water Level

The afternoon started to close in, an hour or so past, the next rod to go was the one up the margin, this was a finicky take. The bobbin danced and then pulled up and slapped the blank. Picking the rod up, the carp had already shot right up the margin, as I applied the pressure it kited far out into the open water. It ran out of steam pretty quick and I soon found myself netting a spirited little common carp. This fish represented what you can expect from the res nowadays, the smaller fish have taken over, unfortunately CAA don't own the fish in any of the Braxted waters so they can't manage the stock in the same way they have on their other venues.

Common Number Three

I put the fish straight back and got the rod back out, opting to fire it a little further towards the open water rather than the margin. The rest of the session was uneventful on the fish front but I always enjoy it when the light starts to fade. One of my favourite things about fishing this time of the year is when darkness falls. I like sitting under my shelter and watching the sunset, the only light that can be seen is from my stove if I use it or from my alarms if I get a liner or a run. I love the isolation of being alone on the water in the dark, there's no distractions, no outside influence it's just you and the surrounding planet, free from the Matrix, if only for a short time. I packed away about 7pm and made my way along the res, down the farm track and into the car park, I'd had a great day and my enthusiasm for 'the res' had been rejuvenated slightly.

The Dark

Micklem Mere 'Fishing For Mysteries' Part 5

Over the past couple of months with all my focus having been applied to one lake and one swim I decided to go 'off-piste' for a day. I literally felt like my thinking was coming to a stand still, I could feel my neural pathways short circuiting, I fancied a change. I decided to take a trip up to Micklem Mere because I hadn't fished the place for quite some time. To me, Micklem is/was a special water and a completely different prospect to all the other venues I have available to me. The 'Fishing For Mysteries' series is ongoing and will document all my sessions fishing on the mere, if you missed the first in the series it can be found by clicking this link Fishing For Mysteries Part 1. Writing about the water how it was way back in 2016 is something that still inspires me, hardly anyone fished it because nobody really knew what was in it. Fast forward to the current day in 2019, in my mind, the water is a shadow of its former self. Once word got out that there were some rather large carp getting caught, with the help of the digital disease called "social media", people started flocking down in numbers. Unfortunately its now started to become like every other water out there, far too busy, way too pressured and, to be expected, the once pristine beautiful fish are starting to suffer mouth damage. 

Utopia Banished

I've mentioned it before in so many other blogs but there's just no excuse for mouth damage, there's no excuse for any damage inflicted on any fish. I understand that we all get the odd dodgy hook hold but what I'm seeing goes far deeper than that. I'm genuinely running out of places to fish that contain clean carp, the amount of waters I've turned my back on due to this problem is mounting up. I put this down to a lack of education, tackle firms will piece together 5 hour DVD's designed to market new products. But won't take 10 minutes to explain the concept of the clutch, the test curve and the relation these two elements have in landing a fish safely. So ... going back to Micklem, here in the current day it has become a casualty of the carp fishing circus. Anyway, lets put all the above behind us and magically transport ourselves back to October 2016. The aim was to get up just before first light and zoom out of London and up into Essex at a 'questionable' speed to get to the water just as the world was waking up. This was successfully achieved and as I pulled up to the gate to punch in the combination that gives me access to 'the other world'. I was feeling pretty dam excited, it felt good to be fishing a different water.

There's always a slight apprehension as the car park comes into view, I was pleasantly surprised to find it empty. It was looking like I was going to have the whole place to myself. Looking down from where I parked my van, the mere rests sunken in the landscape surrounded by a thin covering of trees and bushes. It always looks perfect, loading the barrow and trundling down the field I could literally feel the world on the other side of the gate disappear. The closer I got to the water the more obsolete the 'real world' became, very few waters have this effect on me. The fact the place was totally deserted played a huge part. I can assure you, if spods were flying and bivy pegs were being hammered in the ground, I probably would of turned straight around and left. I wasn't in a huge rush to get setup so I decided to take a wander and see if any carp were going to give themselves away. Placed periodically around the bank side are wooden benches, they're positioned perfectly so you can take a stroll and then take a seat to watch the water. I made my way half way along the car park bank and took a seat. Below is a very rough map.

View From Above

The wind was pushing down into my face, it was warm and fresh, now with the sun peering over the distant trees, I knew it was going to end up being a nice bright day. I'm always reluctant to fish the swims on the car park bank during the warmer months, mainly because, no less than a rod length out, it drops down to 18/19ft. I usually like to focus my attention up the other end which has some of the shallowest parts. After minor observation I carried on walking round and up along the road bank, the sun was now rising fast, the morning was dawning and as the light of the new day started to spread across the mere, with it came a clear sense of new possibilities. I still hadn't spotted any fish so I continued up past the back bay and onward into the 'out of bounds' area. The out of bounds area is pretty much 'jungle warfare', there's no clear path so you just improvise. It's pretty much just marshland, the long grass cracks, crumples and squelches under foot. Perched within this part of the landscape is an old derelict shed, its wood is weathered, its hinges rusty and broken. I can only assume this is a leftover from when the mere was a trout fishery. Whatever it was it looks a little too 'Blair Witch' for my liking.  

View From The Last Swim On The Field Bank 'The Shallows'

Walking from the out of bounds area the lake suddenly comes back into view, the first swim you come to is what I call the shallows. This part of the water is quite interesting, to the left you have a lovely silt area that stretches out a fair distance in front of the treeline. The water directly in front is around knee height and you can literally walk out right up until the point of the trees on the right hand side, 'check the photo above'. From the point of the tree the back bay begins and the depth falls away to around 9/10ft. On those early mornings when the sun is warm and the wind is pushing up, the carp have a tendency to group together a short distance out. Carrying on down towards where I started, I was yet to see anything showing, with a few more minutes of deliberation I decided I'd fish on the front on the wind. It wasn't exactly blowing a gale but there was enough of a breeze to convince me that a few fish might just be milling around the area. 

The Perfect Morning 'No Breeze'

Now with the morning sun high in the sky any clouds that were hanging over head were burning away fast. The little breeze there was died, the swim I decided to fish is quarter of the way up the field bank. It has a lovely feature in the shape of a slope that, very gradually falls away to around 11/12ft. My plan was to fish half way down this slope with both rods positioned about a rods length apart. To start off with I wasn't going to bait particularly heavy, opting for 4 bait stringers with a small mesh bag of crushed boilie. Around this I'd scatter a handful of freebies, baiting heavy straight away didn't feel like the right way to go. Bait wise I was going to be sticking with the green lipped mussel, my rigs were going to be simple semi-fixed setups with short hook links. Those that have read my blogs for quite sometime now know that I like to keep my rigs as simple as possible. I see no sense in complicating things, the rigs I use today are pretty much the same ones I've been using for the past 29 years, give or take the odd tweak.

Bait Tools

In the image below you can see the shallow water that stretches out a few feet in front of my rod tips, it's easy to make out where the slope starts because the bottom literally disappears. When I first started fishing Micklem this was an area that I pretty much ignored, having done a lot more research between this specific session and the current day. I have a strong reason to believe that I'm fishing on the road that the trucks used to excavate the gravel. I remember finding the same sort of 'road' when I was fishing Chase back lake, I had a lot of fish off it. Old roads and pathways hidden under the water in gravel pits can end up being great features to target. When the carp are actively showing themselves then fishing to hidden features doesn't enter my head. I just want to make sure I'm putting my bait where the fish are, on those days when the visual side of things resemble a 'tumble weed' I find targeting underwater features can be the difference between a blank and a bite. 

Over time I've built a pretty solid picture in my mind of all the waters I fish, I go through the same process with every venue. As the years go by I try to build a complete map, this map stays in my head, this vision in my mind may not be 100% accurate but it's something to work with. During the winter I might take some time after a session to mark up specific areas of interest. Approaching the waters in this way gives me a chance to really think about the best places to put a bait. I know that many nowadays use deeper sonars to help them suss things out, for me though you still can't beat a marker rod, a bare lead or a lead and float. I get a far greater thrill feeling the lead banging and juddering when I'm over a hard spot rather than the idea of relying on a piece of technology that may or may not be accurate.

  

View From The Swim

Even though I wasn't fishing a great distance I still wanted to wrap both rods so I was hitting the exact same mark on each cast. It worked out 7 rod lengths to the spots I'd chosen, this put me in 7ft of water. The bottom was hard with lightly scattered weed, I opted for slow sinking and low lying pop ups, this was to ensure my hook baits didn't get obscured by any weed they might land in. There's patchy weed scattered all around Micklem, none of it's really a problem to present a rig in. So after a rather lazy start I finally got both my rods out, 7 rod lengths is a tricky distance to cast without getting a bit of 'bounce back', but I managed to cushion them perfectly with the help of my Bruce Ashby 'BALLISTAS'. The back leads were slipped on, the bobbins were set and a handful of bait was deployed over both rigs. It was now time to sit back, 'try to relax' and see what the day was going to produce. I was under no illusion, your typical Micklem session is normally packed with the small stuff. I like to refer to them as 'future kings', they come in the shape of perfect looking common carp and if you're lucky a mirror or two. If the heavens are smiling down on you, you might hook into one of the secret monsters that, very occasionally reveal themselves. It's this prospect that keeps me coming back.

The Faithful 'Stringer' - Underused Nowadays

It was literally a few minutes before the bobbin on my left rod whizzed to the top and smacked the blank. I knew instantly that it was one of the small fish, when one of the larger 'secrets' pick your bait up the clutch will whizz and the alarm will sing. I lifted the rod up gently, the tip was knocking and the scamp on the other end was whizzing around like a bottle rocket. I slowly reeled it in, carefully unhooked it and sent it straight back. I always try to be as careful as possible with the small carp, they're delicate and I don't want to be damaging them. We're wanting all these fish to grow up as pristine as possible. 

Future King One

As soon as I got the rod back the right one was away, just like the bite before, the bobbin shot up to the top and slapped the blank, however this fish managed to take a little bit of line. The additive 'whirl' of the clutch kicked in for about 5 seconds, I could feel that it was a slightly better fish, it was putting up a fair fight and as it came into view it was clear that this one was a pretty decent low double. I decided to unhook it in the net and send it straight home. 

Future King Two

I suddenly had a change of thought regarding my baiting approach, if I wanted to stand a chance of hooking one of the better ones I needed to attempt to draw as many carp into the swim as possible. In my mind, the more bait I put out the higher the chance I had of a potential monster coming along. I reeled both my rods in and ran up to the van to get hold of my pellets and method mix. I always keep a few 'auxiliary' bags in the fishing wagon. 

Multi-Mix Pellets With Beastie Ball Method Mix

I knocked up a quick recipe that consisted of multi-mix pellets and beastie ball ground bait, to this I added some salmon oil. This was all blended together to make a nice 'tacky' consistency that would sit well in a mini spomb. I was going to keep the swim topped up with the pellet and ground bait, sticking with the same minimal feeding approach with the boilies. The attraction within the recipe I'd just concocted was more than enough to keep a scent in the swim. The mini spomb was clipped up to 7.5 rod lengths, I introduced 10 little rockets of bait and then got both my rigs back out. I'd feed the swim as and when, the bulk of the bait would be reintroduced after each bite. 

A Subtle Missile Of Flavor

Now with my new baiting plan executed the bobbins were clipped on, the bite alarms were 'set to stun' and I was ready to go again. I started to get lots of little knocks and indications on both alarms straight away, within minutes my left rod fired off. The bobbin fumbled about and then tore up and smacked the blank, upon lifting the rod up I could barely feel anything on the other end. I wound in slowly and as the lead came into view I could see a small fish rolling around, just like all the previous bites, I unhooked it gently and sent it home.

Future King Three

This rod went back out I didn't even bother changing the hook bait, over the top of this I dispensed 5 mini spombs. I started thinking back to previous sessions and there seemed to be a pattern, the better fish had a habit of coming along towards late afternoon and early evening. Before I'd even managed to sit down my right rod was the next one to go, the bite was practically identical to the last. Carefully winding in, I was met with another perfect looking common, it was barely a couple of pound but it had lovely red fins, when/if this fish grows on to be a monster, it's going to end up looking pretty special. 

Future King Four

The fish was returned, the rig went back out followed by another 5 missiles of feed. Things started to slow down from this point, the sun was now beating down hard. The liners ceased and both alarms stayed silent. To be honest I wasn't too bothered, this was usual practice for Micklem, I decided that I'd introduce 5 mini spombs every 45 minutes or so throughout the day, I knew the carp would come back around, you just had to be patient. In the meantime it gave me a chance to put on 'the all important kettle' and soak up the sights and sounds. Because no one else had turned up I felt like I had my own private lake. Sitting there waiting for the kettle to boil, I was scanning the waters surface for any signs of fish. I started to think back to the first time I cast my lines into Micklems water, it appeared so vast and the prospect of catching any fish at all felt like an impossibility. But like every water I've fished, once you start to work it out it's as if the place shrinks.

Clarity

The hours slowly started to pass me by, I sat transfixed on the water and the distant horizon. I was drifting in and out of a daydream. I started to think about the confusion and conflict that was going on in the 'other world' beyond the gate and over the horizon line. I sat motionless with not one care in my mind at all, which is rather a rare occurrence. I started to think about the minor culture shock I feel when I've spent a day on my own in the middle of nowhere, and then I drive back to London to resume my existence. The pace quickens and before you know it the stress relief the day had provided is quickly undone as you find yourself fighting through the unforgiving streets of the city. For now though, I needn't concern myself with 'the normal' or 'mundane', I was craving the abnormal, I wanted a creature from the deep to pay me a visit. Both contemplation and questions about the possibility of extraterrestrials running the world saw the remaining hours of the afternoon fly by.

Come 5pm the feeling around the mere changed, even though I hadn't seen any indication of carp anywhere near me, I knew I was 'back in business', a bite wasn't far off. With the late September sun quickly cooling off it wasn't long before a few fish started showing themselves, some jumped up towards the back bay and another couple towards the middle out in front of me. I took this as a good sign, I was willing one of my alarms to go screaming off. I added 5 mini missiles to top my swim up and sat poised on the edge of my chair. My right rod sprung into life literally seconds after I'd put the extra feed in. The bobbin flew to the top and stayed there, I picked the rod up and gently wound in slowly, I could feel it was another little carp, as it came into view it was literally a couple of pound at most. 

Future King Number 5

I slipped it back during which my left rod went off, the bite was literally identical to the one I just had. Lifting into this fish, it at least put a small bend in the rod, it was darting around all over the show fighting like a fish at least double the weight it ended up being. I netted a lovely long common that had a unique tinge of orange to its appearance. I got it back straight away and worked on getting both rods out as quickly as I could. Once the bobbins were set I topped the swim up with a few more spombs hoping that one of the mere's secrets was going to pay me a visit before I had to leave. 

Future King Number 6

After the two quick bites the action stalled, I was convinced it was all going to 'kick off' like it had so many times in the past round about this same sort of time. Micklem can be so bloody unpredictable, I was happy with the carp I'd had but I was certain that something special had to come along at some point. I sat tight, the September sun was dropping towards the horizon line and with it, a chill moved in that very much indicated that summer was well and truly on the way out. Looking at the time it was 18:30pm, I was going to give it until 19:00pm, any later than that and I was going to be getting home pretty late, I had to be up early for work so I didn't fancy rushing around when I got home. I was looking at the clock on my phone as if it was a countdown to the end of existence. Time was ticking by way too fast, I literally had 10 minutes left and then .... "BANG", my right rod was away only this time it was a proper take. The tip of the rod hooped round sharp to the right and both the clutch and alarm sung, these two sounds in unison was what I'd been wanting to hear.

Rushing to the rod and lifting into the mystery, the blank arched round and I was into the first proper fight of the day. 'Last knockings' had paid off, the carp bolted straight out into the open water diving down deep. I savored the moment, I'd waited long enough for it to happen. I started to gain ground and as the fish edged closer it was bolting from left to right, it put up one hell of fight. Now literally under the rod tip it was using the depth close in, keeping well out the way of netting distance, I was dying to get a glimpse, the bigger fish from Micklem are always special. Soon enough it was ready, a perfect looking common carp resigned itself to the net mesh. It was a classic looking Micklem fish, it had a lovely high back, a large clean mouth, perfect proportions and it looked completely untouched, the setting sun reflected perfectly off of its spotless scales. I wasn't interested in the weight, weight is something that means very little to me nowadays, it's just about getting out there and trying to suss the equation out.

The Secret

With the sun setting and the light fading I sent the fish back home, I watched as it morphed into nothing as the mere swallowed it whole. I had no head-torch with me so it was a pretty undignified pack down. I scrambled along the bank and back up the hill to the car park, I literally threw everything in the back of the van in one quick motion. Upon locking the back door, I turned to give the mere one last look, I could just about make it out. I reluctantly drove back to the gate, I knew the minute I opened it I'd find myself back in the 'real' world, a place that, as the years go by, I find I'm withdrawing from more and more, it's uninspiring, a hamster wheel of repetition, a place where the ego is given way to much importance, where style overrides any form of substance. Nowadays it's more about survival for me than anything else, I wish I could look upon everyday life in a more positive way but I can't. On the upside though it was looking like I was going to only have to put up with it for a few days because I'd find myself back down Burrows fishing the bottle-neck once again.

Micklem Sleeping

  

Braxted Reservoir Part One 'The Trance & The Hypnotists'

This blog is going to be in two parts, in the second part I'm going to be accounting for a nice relaxed session up on Braxted Reservoir. There's a link at the bottom of this post that will take you directly to the session blog. In this first part I'd like to try and explain to you my viewpoint on "the outside world". I refer to "the outside world" as the place beyond the sanctuary of the waters and rivers we fish. What effects society has a tendency to bleed over into angling, I hope you can see the connection I'm trying to make. Some of what I'm going to say might sound like the ramblings of a madman, I'm fine with that, sanity is overrated.   

Having spent the last couple of months focusing solely on Cants I felt inspired at the prospect of shifting my attention elsewhere. In some respects I'm my own worst enemy because I never consistently stick to one water for a long length of time, once I start to catch regularly, I have a tendency to move on, coming back to 'said water' when it takes my fancy. I like fishing this way because it widens my perspective and keeps me thinking, I don't get bored. As we know, every water is different and the more scenarios you find yourself up against, the more your knowledge base expands and alters as does your experience. As mentioned before, I'm still writing my 2016 sessions up, existing as an angler in 2019 my viewpoint has taken a major shift. I'm starting to get the urge to branch out further afield, I mentioned the slight frustration I was feeling in my previous blog. I'm seriously considering taking on a big pit of some kind, something that I can really focus on and get into a rythm of fishing on a regular basis. I like the idea of bleak wide open spaces with little, to no knowledge of what the water contains. Part of me feels that my 'club water days' are slowly coming to an end. Over the next few months I'm going to be considering my next move very carefully.

In regards to big pits, I feel the seed was planted decades ago but its just taken a while to firmly root. Many moons back in the days of the VHS video I remember watching a film of Andy Little and David Seaman fishing a huge desolate water, it was a deep old gravel pit with an unknown stock. The film documented 7 days of fishing, I recall the endless thought process they went through to try and extract the mystery that lurked within its eerie depths. They worked tirelessly to try and make something happen, it was on the 6th day that a breakthrough occurred. For a good few days they'd been constantly feeding their swim, both of them stood there, each with a throwing stick and they just kept on applying bait. Carp finally started to show, I can literally see it in my mind now as I type these words, out across this huge hostile landscape, life was emerging. Single shows turned into multiple acrobatic displays. The bottom was clearly starting to get kicked up and then ... 'BANG' .. it all kicked off. There was something about extracting life from something so wild and untapped that had a long lasting effect on me.

Below The Surface

 

I had a recent conversation with a friend when we were discussing the very simple subject of existence, one point I made, which pretty much sums up where my mind is at was, "my interest is focused below the surface, dry land is far too obvious" - What I mean by this could be seen as complicated, "try and bare with me whilst I go off on a rather long tangent"

Lets Take A Trip Down The Rabbit Hole
  
On a day to day basis you pretty much know what's going to happen, we wake and we work and we abuse ourselves trying to get by. We're all continually chasing after something, an idea of happiness that's been cleverly implanted in our minds by a number of influences, a happiness that may not actually exist. Personally I'm still trying to work out what that 'happiness' is, one thing I'm certain of, it doesn't involve expensive cars, big houses and loads of money. I believe 'it' contains a far greater amount of substance than anything material. Along side that, you can literally predict the day to day conflict, it's completely out of hand, a massive majority are now so divided in their views and opinions that it's almost irreparable. In reality this shouldn't cause problems, but it does. Due to the current 'political climate' in the UK, never before has a line been drawn so deeply between the population. I'm hearing all these 'slogans' and 'buzz terms' that in theory, don't actually exist. Through the years they've been made to exist, I see this as a product of 'social engineering', many think they have their own mind and their own opinions, it can come as quite a shock when people wake up and realize they don't. Your opinions are formed and shaped by the information you're exposed to, I believe a vast majority of this 'information' is manipulated and designed to get a reaction and create friction. I started to write a poem about this and there's a line in it that says, "We're all infected with a virus, it's called media bias" - this line resonates with what I'm seeing around me, not just in the UK but all over the world.

It's Us Against Us

More than ever before people are defining themselves by meaningless labels, no longer do we use our names, you're either 'Conservative' or 'Labour', you're a 'Remainer' or 'Brexiteer', you're 'left-wing', 'right-wing' or 'center'. All these terms don't exist, they've been made to exist and each one has been given a meaning as a mechanism to divide and split the collective consciousness. There really doesn't need to be any divide because we're all sharing and existing on the same frequency, we're experiencing the same consciousness. A prime example I can give of the 'collective mind' operating as one was during the last world cup. I sensed a huge shift in peoples attitudes towards one another, we were all supporting the same thing. This produced an overall feeling of unity and it gave us all an amazing feeling of hope, for those that control, hope is a very dangerous thing. Once England got knocked out it took a matter of days for the usual divides to take hold again, the feeling in the air literally changed over night. But this gives us a glimpse of what society can feel like when our collective consciousness comes together. The more I observe the world, the more I believe that we're living in an engineered reality and as humans we're literally trapped in a collective trance that we can't break out of. 

  

Lead, Don't Follow

The creators of this trance are what I call the 'hypnotists', these are the mechanisms that keep us dumb and fixated on the 'unimportant'. They include the corporations, the media in all its forms, Hollywood, the music industry, the entertainment industry, the television companies, think tanks, celebrities, the list goes on, they're all around us in every area of our existence. It's these hypnotists that influence us on a day to day basis and many are completely unaware that this is the case. They form our world view, tell us how we should think and what we should feel, who we should like and who we should hate, what we should have and what we shouldn't. They do the thinking for us and many just take it all onboard without question. I believe the less self-belief you have the easier you are to influence, if you believe in both yourself and your actions, you'll have a natural resistance to this hypnosis. We have our own minds for a reason, and that's to use and develop them. The saying, "if you don't use it you loose it" rings very true here. And looking at society and the world in general, I think more people are losing their minds as opposed to using them. Before the worldwide web and smart phones it was far easier to remove yourself from the thought-control, but nowadays it's almost impossible. Until we break this trance the conflict and ill feeling is just going to escalate further. So how do we wake up? I don't think it's possible, as a race we're too far down the rabbit hole to be able to claw our way back out.

Down The Rabbit Hole

 

The idea of a 'trance' might sound utterly ridiculous to some of you out there, I can understand why. Surely to be in a trance we have to be asleep?. This isn't necessarily the case, both 'shock' and 'trauma' create a sleep like state even though our eyes are wide open and we're fully conscious. There are forms of hypnosis that can put you in a dream like state whilst you are completely aware of your surroundings. It's this form of hypnosis that our television set provides. How many times have you been watching TV only to realize that the hours have past and you've literally lost all sense of time. Another common symptom of how effective TV is as a trance inducing tool, how many of us find ourselves falling asleep in front of it, only to find that when we go to bed we can't seem to fall asleep as easily. Surfing the web has a very similar effect, I find that your awareness is locked so firmly on your screen that you're blind to anything else. If you're not careful a whole day can disappear and all you've got to show for it is a dozen or so carefully edited and choreographed social media updates. We're looking in the wrong places for substance, the term 'habitually distracted' comes to mind, we're so preoccupied with the 'meaningless' that we've lost sight of the 'meaning'. None of this is our fault, we're up against a finely tuned machine. Billions of pounds have been invested into learning about the human mind and how to manipulate it. Why is the trance so successful? There are many layers to this question but I have a main theory, it's perpetuated by targeting the lowest common denominators in our psyche.      

Don't Question, Stay In The Trance

A few of these denominators include the ego, vanity, greed, envy, anger and possibly, delusion. I believe we live in a society where these traits are being continually targeted and massaged. The more they're stimulated the more prominent and 'normal' they become within us, they're like muscles, the more they're worked the more they grow. When it comes to an outer influence stimulating the higher traits such as honesty, courage, imagination, loyalty and dependability, I see very little working towards bringing these to the forefront, it seems these traits are continually getting buried. The trance isn't contained to just one area of our lives, it's functioning in every aspect. In recent years angling has become infected, I think it's safe to say that, back in the late 70's and 80's, carp angling didn't really contain any 'hypnotists', it was all pretty much below the radar and only those on the waters knew what was going on. Unfortunately nowadays it's a very different story, the corporate machine has come and raped every ounce of honesty and beauty that carp fishing once held. We now have master hypnotists controlling and dictating to a 'mass' that's so consumed by the trance that a vast majority of independent thinking has been removed from the equation completely. Looking back over the lowest traits listed above, I see them all within modern day carp angling, ego and envy being the strongest by far.

Drop The Lead, You'll Land More Fish

It's at this point in this post that people may well disagree with what I'm trying to say, or they simply don't quite understand the point I'm trying to make, which is fair enough. But lets try and step outside of our angling minds for just a moment. One consequence of the trance that I find utterly absurd is dropping the lead on the take, I understand there's an argument that it's safer for the carp if you're fishing near snags or in weed. However, I don't think it should be dropped in any situation, if the weed and the snags are that bad then you shouldn't be fishing in that specific spot in the first place. But .. alas .. the 'catch at any cost' mentality is another symptom of the trance. When you look at it in the most straightforward way possible, we're traveling out into the countryside to occupy a place of beauty. We're placing ourselves in and amongst many living creatures and casting our lines into waters that contain their own ecosystem and universe. I was under the impression that anglers respected their environment and we simply slotted in and out without leaving a trace. But it would appear not, now we're dumping a highly toxic material in the waters in the name of "fish care". Does anyone actually understand just how ridiculous that sounds? unfortunately many many people don't see it as a problem. The master 'hypnotists' in modern day carp angling have such a huge influence that people are blind to the fact that we are slowly destroying the one thing that we're all suppose to love and look after. Is this statement over the top? ... no I don't think it is.

Monkey See Monkey Do

This is where 'celebrity obsession syndrome' rears its pathetic head. Through my eyes 'celebrity' is another meaningless word, it creates division, it's us, 'the lower' & them, 'the higher' - it's an illusion. It would appear if someone is on the television, in the movies, in the magazines and now on You-Tube or Instagram with millions of followers, all of a sudden they're elevated into a supreme being. They're propelled into the stratosphere, untouchable by us mere mortals. Suddenly everything they wear is a 'must have', everything they do has to be copied and everything that they say is gospel and, of course, 100% the truth. People will blindly follow 'celebrity', as if in a 'trance', and that's exactly what it is, all these apparent celebrities are just different examples of the 'hypnotists' I'm talking about. It's these same 'hypnotists' that convince hundreds of impressionable girls & boys to look a certain way, even if it's detrimental to their health. It's these same 'hypnotists' that distort their face with botox, thus inspiring many a 'beautiful' young person to do the same thing, disfiguring themselves in the process. In my eyes 'celebrity obsession' has an awful lot to answer for in this day and age. People need to develop their own mind and their own sense of self and stop relocating their self belief in a 'tin god'.  Let us not forget that it's this same 'celebrity obsession' that influenced hundreds, if not thousands of 'anglers' that dropping lead, a poison, into the water ways is exceptable and a new 'cool approach'. It's these same 'hypnotists' that teach you how to spend your hard earned money on outrageously overpriced tackle that you don't really need - just so you look the part out on the bank. However, one thing that's become very apparent, they certainly don't teach you manors, etiquette and consideration, these are all the good, valuable traits that, as mentioned before, aren't stimulated nowadays in any way.

So let us go all the back to my original point "my interest is focused below the surface, dry land is far too obvious" 
   

The above paragraphs explain how I see the world, it's not a forced viewpoint, I wish I had a far more "happy go lucky" way of looking at things, unfortunately I never have and that isn't going to change now. I find everything I see in the world around me to be an 'obvious' symptom of both the system and the collective trance. When I look to the waters, especially the idea of huge desolate pits and the possibilities that they hold, there is no trance, there is no 'left', no 'right' or 'center' and there is no divide. The information we receive when we're out in the wild isn't 'engineered', it's real, you don't know what's going to happen, nothing is obvious, there are no forces controlling or manipulating the outcome, only nature itself. I've spoken about all this many times before, those of us that fish are lucky, our 'get out clause' from the bullshit is when we cast those lines into infinity. Uncertainty in any other area of our lives is a stressful situation, but it's that same uncertainty that fuels us to get out and fish, it's that uncertainty that keeps us fixed behind our rods for countless hours, days and weeks. When you're away from the bullshit you can actually discover yourself and get a little bit closer to understanding who you are and what you want out of your life. How many people say they go fishing to "get away from the stresses and strains of everyday life". Have you ever asked yourself why you feel stressed and strained?, it's because our lives have been engineered to be that way, and since 'day one' its become normalized and accepted. When you get the time, cast your lines and break the trance. 

Braxted Reservoir Part Two 'Escaping The Trance'